If I've been scammed......

tony glenn

I recently put a 'Wanted' ad on Done Deal for a particular musical instrument, and just had a response from a guy in Derry.
He sent a pic of exactly what I wanted, and accepted my offer, not a huge amount btw.
He wanted me to PayPal him 'friends and family' so he wouldn't have to wait 28 days to withdraw the payment. I was hesitant, but he was a long-time Done Dealer with a verified email address. I asked for his home address, and the postcode checked out on the BT directory, So I hit the button.
He then asked me to confirm my shipping address, and said he'd mail me courier details
I heard nothing all day yesterday, and I've had no reply to two mails I've sent....so I'm thinking something might be amiss.
I'm waiting on Done Deal to get back to me, but in the meantime, have I any buyer protection from PayPal? I can show that it was a purchase even though I typed in 'friends and family'..... PayPal took the money from my Visa card, does that mean Visa might refund me?
Finally, if there isn't a genuine reason for the delay, and this is a deliberate fraud, can I report it to the PSNI ?
As I said, it's not a huge amount (100 euro), but I'm not going to just sit back and let it go.
Any advice as to my next step?

Donald Trump

tony glenn wrote: »

I recently put a 'Wanted' ad on Done Deal for a particular musical instrument,  and just had a response from a guy in Derry.
He sent a pic of exactly what I wanted, and accepted my offer, not a huge amount btw.
He wanted me to PayPal him 'friends and family' so he wouldn't have to wait 28 days to withdraw the payment. I was hesitant, but he was a long-time Done Dealer with a verified email address. I asked for his home address, and the postcode checked out on the BT directory, So I hit the button.
He then asked me to confirm my shipping address, and said he'd mail me courier details
I heard nothing all day yesterday, and I've had no reply to two mails I've sent....so I'm thinking something might be amiss.
I'm waiting on Done Deal to get back to me, but in the meantime, have I any buyer protection from PayPal? I can show that it was a purchase even though I typed in 'friends and family'..... PayPal took the money from my Visa card, does that mean Visa might refund me?
Finally, if there isn't a genuine reason for the delay, and this is a deliberate fraud, can I report it to the PSNI ?
As I said, it's not a huge amount (100 euro), but I'm not going to just sit back and let it go.
Any advice as to my next step?

"Friends and Family" does not come under Paypal protection. If you pay as business transaction, you get protection but he gets a small deduction. What you did was essentially hand cash to a stranger. How do you know he's in Derry and not Lagos?

Did he send you a pic of his flute?

(Real answer: Just contact Paypal directly)

Atari Jaguar

PayPal will tell you to go away. Let him know he has 48 hours to respond or you'll be getting a chargeback from your bank. Just explain to them the payment was sent in error and it was meant to be sent as paying for goods. This is not fraud and you've no comeback as a private sale. Just give the chap a bit of time. Learn your lesson too.

Tzardine

The funds might be just resting in his account.

keavebm

It's a scam sorry to say. It dosent take 28 days to withdraw funds from paypal even if it's family and friends money. Paypal won't do anything the only way is a charge back from your bank or credit card which can take a couple of months. The same thing has happened to me

tomwaterford

Did you reverse image search the pic he sent you?

Boom_Bap

Thread moved from After Hours ron Online Buying as the OP is more likely to get sensible answers here.

Please read the local charter before posting.

shocksy

You've been scammed, no easy way to say it.

First of all, it doesn't take 28 days to withdraw a payment from PayPal. If you were unsure of this, you should of checked their website.

The main red flag was him asking you to choose the ''Friends & Family'' payment option. He got you to do this as you would have no buyer protection, and he also was laughing because he wouldn't even have to pay PayPal a small fee for receiving the funds. He was also probably sitting behind his computer screen in Nigeria somewhere. It was only his word that he was in Derry.

There's nothing you can do unfortunately, you fell hook line and sinker, just please learn from it and move on. Buyer beware in future. He probably also got the picture off google images. In future ask someone to send a picture of the item with that days date on the paper or something, you'll know soon enough then if they're scamming you.

Best of luck in the future.

dohouch

Atari Jaguer wrote: »

Let him know he has 48 hours to respond or you'll be getting a chargeback from your bank..

I want to do a chargeback on an AIB credit card and was told last night by AIB phone banking that I would have to wait 15 days :eek: before I can do a chargeback. . It's for an airline ticket and the airline is Avianca

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Atari Jaguar

dohouch wrote: »

I want to do a chargeback on an AIB credit card and was told last night by AIB phone banking that I would have to wait 15 days :eek: before I can do a chargeback. . It's for an airline ticket and the airline is Avianca

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I believe that's the maximum time they allow a transaction to be "pending" if it's not claimed before then it just drops off and you're credited anyway.